Third anniversary of woman's death passes without arrest

Posted: Saturday, November 20, 1999

By Ben DeckStaff Writer

There are likely residents in the Athens area who have information that would solve the murder of a Madison County woman, a Georgia Bureau of Investigation agent said on the third anniversary of the woman's death.

Peggy Angela Harris, 24, was stabbed to death three years ago Friday in a mobile home located on Georgia Highway 106 just north of the Clarke-Madison county line, where she lived with her parents.

''Many times we have found someone has run their mouth'' after committing a murder, said Bill Malueg, special agent in charge of the Athens office of the GBI.

In fact, Malueg said he knows some Athens-area residents who likely have information about the slaying. Those people may be afraid of reprisals if they come forward, or they may be people who have had run-ins with the law and are therefore not inclined to speak with authorities, Malueg said.

Bill Strickland, chief deputy for the Madison County sheriff's office, said investigators are ''grasping at straws and talking to anyone we can.''

Detectives follow up on calls about the case, which come in every few weeks, Strickland said. Investigators also make regular checks with people they have already spoken with, he added.

On the second anniversary of Harris' death, Sheriff Clayton Lowe said investigators had ''a strong suspect since the beginning'' of the case, but investigators have not been able to develop the evidence needed to make an arrest.

Harris' father found her body wrapped in a comforter on Nov. 19, 1996, after he returned home about 9:30 a.m. to check on her because she had not kept an appointment. She was last seen alive by her mother, who left the family residence about 8 a.m.

Harris' mother told investigators she left the front door to the family trailer closed but not locked when she left for work.

The home was ''somewhat'' ransacked, according to investigators looking into the crime in the days after the slaying. Then-Madison County Sheriff Jack Fortson speculated at the time of the crime that Harris surprised a burglar, who killed her.

''We're still looking in that direction,'' Malueg said Friday.

One lead to Harris' slaying came a month after her death, when another Madison County woman shot at a prowler standing on the front porch of her mobile home. The woman, who lived in the Norwood community in south Madison County near Harris' home, heard someone try the locked doorknob of her front door without knocking.

She got her .38-caliber revolver, went to the door and warned the would-be intruder that she would shoot if he did not say who he was. She told investigators she saw the man standing at the end of her front porch and shot when he reached for his pocket.

The prowler shouted and ran away, but the woman said she was unsure whether she hit him.

About the same time, residents decided to try and help investigators by offering a reward with money they raised.

Posters advertising the reward have come and gone, but the fund stands at $13,000, according to Tracy Townsend, Harris' sister.

''We don't want this to die -- we want people to remember it's still open,'' Townsend said.

Family members gather for a dinner each Nov. 19 to mourn Harris' death, and the mourning is harder because there has been no arrest in the case, Townsend said.

''That's the hard part -- not knowing,'' she said.

Townsend also said she is frustrated by the lack of an arrest.

''I feel it's been swept under a rug (by investigators),'' she said.

Strickland disagreed, saying investigators are ''still hammering'' on the case.

Malueg said there has been no progress in the case in the last year, and that investigators will likely need someone to come forward with information in order to make an arrest.

The GBI office in Athens can be reached by calling (706) 542-7901, and the Madison County Sheriff's Office can be reached by calling (706) 795-2647.

''If there's someone out there who wants the reward money ...,'' Malueg said Friday, asking for assistance.